Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Local Discovery: Monk’s Groovy Beans

I wholeheartedly believe in the power of coffee. No convincing needed here. I drink a perfect cup of it each morning with a little cream and one sugar. From now on, though, I just might take my coffee with one part boxer pup and two parts teacher. Add a splash of hippie love and you’ve got Monk’s Groovy beans, a local brewer that goes above and beyond the normal wake-up call.

Monk’s Groovy Beans is a small coffee company that makes its home inside the Atherton Mill Market. Named after Monk, the boxer pup and “Chief Executive Muse” of Bill Register, co-owner of the coffee company, Monk’s prides itself on giving back.

Bill Register is also a music teacher at Nations Ford High School and received Monk the boxer as a gift from his students eight years ago. In 2010, he partnered up with Claire Hawes, another music teacher from Fort Mill High School to start Monk’s Groovy Beans as a clever way to raise funds for their schools and respective music programs.

“We knew we liked good coffee and that we wanted to provide opportunities for our students” said Register.

That’s exactly what they did. Monk’s Groovy Beans pays it forward one cup at a time and their benevolence stretches far and wide, beginning with the beans.

First and foremost, Register and Hawes are committed to purchasing fair trade coffee that ensures fair treatment and wages to its producers in Africa, Indonesia, South and Central America. Next, he says, the coffee must be organic.

“Coffee can be one of the most pesticide-laden products and it is important that our beans are pesticide-free, ”said Register. The coffee was outstanding, smooth and lush, without a trace of bitterness. I drank it black with no regrets.

Earlier this year, Monk’s Groovy Beans began roasting locally. Every bag of beans at Atherton Mill is roasted fresh each week in small batches, no more than twelve pounds at a time, just up the road in the Golden Grains Bakery facility off Griffith road.

Even groovier is the fundraising component that allows anyone to give back to the organization. Currently, Monk’s does work with the American Diabetes Association, Carolina Crown and Drum Bugle Corp, Camp Luck and local area schools. Customers have options to give back through coffee subscriptions or through individual purchase.

“We believe in serving our community and supporting local endeavors,” says Register, who has managed to support his school, the local community and the world simply by making coffee.

Drink coffee, do good? Sounds like my cup of tea, er, I mean, coffee.

Grab a cup of Monk’s Groovy Beans at the Atherton Mill Market open Tuesdays 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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